Alumni Way Service

The Wisconsin idea begins with service, and service begins here.

Badgers have a long history of national service.

Lynsey Addario
Photojournalist
BA 1995

"I believe in fate and believe that when it's time to go, I'm going to go. And I would rather have a camera in my hand when it's that time."

Geraldine Hines
A Justice For All
JD 1971

"My time in Madison amidst the political fervor of the day affirmed my faith in the law as a tool for racial and social justice."

Elzie Higginbottom
Opportunity Builder
BS 1965

"Equity in America is about economics. Some brave folks sat at the lunch counter. ... I bought the lunch counter."

Kiana Beaudin
Health Care Hero
BS 2010 MPA 2015

"Helping individuals change, that's all about finding their motivation and what they want to do."

Van Hise Rock, a national historic landmark, is located on Wisconsin Highway I36.

Charles Van Hise

University President 1903-18

BS 1879 BS 1880 MS 1882 PhD 1892

"I shall never be content until the beneficent influence of the university reaches every home in the state. "

John & Tashia Morgridge
Philanthropists
JOHN: BBA 1955
TASHIA: BSE 1955

"When one considers great research institutes, one thinks of institutes on either coast. In the future, we want them to think of the University of Wisconsin."

Students can use their talents and energies helping others while they're still on campus. Find opportunities at the UW's Morgridge Center for Public Service.

Alumni Way Discovery

Discovery at the UW happens every day.

Discovery begins with research.

Gabriela Cezar
Stem Cell Researcher
PhD 2002

"The opportunity to create and innovate is an advantage that I've always loved."

William Campbell
The eye that saw a wonder drug
MS 1954 PHD 1957

"We speak with different tongues, but we are as one in gratitude."

Since researcher James Thomson derived the first human embryonic stem cell in 1998, UW—Madison has been a world leader in exploring ways to use cell discoveries to cure diseases and heal injuries.

"Science is a field which grows continuously with ever-expanding frontiers."

John Bardeen

Coinventor of the Transistor

BS 1928 MS 1929

Joseph Hickey
DDT Researcher
MS 1943

"Conservation means more than preserving a few species of wildlife. It means the wise use of all the natural wealth of a great continent so that other generations of Americans can benefit by its resources and enjoy the same opportunities that we do today."

Raymond Damadian
Inventor of the Magnetic Resonance Scanner
BS 1956

"I thought, if we could do on a human what we just did on that test tube, maybe we could build a scanner that would go over the body to hunt down cancer. It was kind of preposterous. But I had hope."

Photo of Jim Lovell, Brewster Shaw & Laurel Clark

Astronauts

"UW alumni have risked their lives to push human knowledge beyond the bounds of earth."

JIM LOVELL: Attended 1946—48

BREWSTER SHAW: BS 1968 MS 1969

LAUREL CLARK: BS 1983 MD 1987

Alumni Way Tradition

Badgers are united by a body of
common experiences.

September Fall October

Photo of students tray sledding down Bascom and Observatory Hills

November December Winter January February

Photo of Inspired Goofiness, Statue of Liberty

Photo of Inspired Goofiness being assembled

Photo of The Grateful Red section at the Kohl Center

Photo of the Badger Crew early-morning practice

March Spring April May

June July Summer August

Buckingham
U Badger

School Mascot
A.K.A. Bucky

1940

The early years

1946

Thank you to the Alumni Community

Thousands of Alumni and friends of the UW have come together to make Alumni Park

Alumni Way Leadership

Leadership Starts Here:

At the podium, in the lab, on the field, across the campus, and around the world.

Bell Hooks
Cultural Critic
MA 1976

"Critical thinking and radical openness empower us to have empathy and compassion — they create a foundation for community."

André De Shields
Broadway Deity
BA 1970

"Time is longer than anything; live your life accordingly."

Linda Thomas-Greenfield
The Ambassador
MA 1975

I had hopes and dreams of my mother, who taught me at a very early age that I could face any challenge or adversity put in my path by being compassionate and being kind."

Jesús Salas
Obrero
MA 1985

"Farmworkers demand recognition and enforcement of wisconsin's progressive legislation."

John Muir

Ecologist, Father of the
U.S. National Park Service

Attended 1860-63

"The power of imagination
makes us infinite."

Badgers have led in government at the state, national, and international levels.

kathryn Clarenbach

A leader in the feminist movement

BA 1941 MA 1942 PhD 1946

"The whole nation suffers from the failure to make use of one half of its brainpower and ability."

Robert La Follette

Governor, U.S. Senator, Progressive Party Founder

BS 1879

"Free men of every generation must combat renewed efforts of organized force and greed to destroy liberty."

Alumni Way Progress

We will cheer at Camp Randall, climb Bascom Hill in the winter, and pursue meaningful work. We will use our education, our experience, our spirit to build a brighter future.

We will make a real difference in the world ... will you?

Andrew Goodman
Freedom's Martyr
Attended 1961

"A people must have dignity and identity."

Allee Willis
Multimedia Raconteur
BA 1969

"There is no such thing as failure. Use everything as a lesson."

The UW is preparing alumni to make a global impact through leadership in language training.

forward under 40 award

Each year, thousands of Badgers graduate and leave Madison and then use what they learned on campus to improve the world. The annual Forward Under 40 Award honors alumni under age 40 who are living out the Wisconsin Idea. These are just a few of the honorees, Badgers who carry the benefits of a UW education around the world.

Do you know any UW–Madison alumni whose accomplishments are so extraordinary that they deserve broad recognition? Nominate them for a 2023 Alumni Award.